


Barbecue

by LinksLipsSinkShips



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Blowjobs, M/M, Office Sex, au where the boys aren't sauceless heathens when it comes to barbecue, au where they're single, barbecue smut, basically just porn, bbq smut, but seriously this is literally just barbecue and sex guys, lots of meat innuendo, smut with barbecue on top, smutty as heck, you're gonna like the taste of my meat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-16 09:51:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11826255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinksLipsSinkShips/pseuds/LinksLipsSinkShips
Summary: Originally written for the prompt "Hey, I was going to eat that," from TheMouthKing





	1. Getting Saucy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheMouthKing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMouthKing/gifts), [likeawildpotato](https://archiveofourown.org/users/likeawildpotato/gifts), [mythicaliz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythicaliz/gifts).



> Originally written for the prompt "Hey, I was going to eat that," from TheMouthKing

Link licked his lips as he watched the barbecue sauce drip down Rhett's fingers as Rhett tore through the meat on the rib he was holding so carefully. Rhett had worked so hard to prepare the ribs all weekend, struggling to get them just right. He went through a few slabs in an effort to perfect his effort, using some of the North Carolina sauce Mama Di had shipped from back home. Finding a great vinegar-based sauce in LA wasn't easy, and nothing beat the real deal from back home anyway. Enjoying the ribs in their shared office space was just a perk of being Rhett's best friend.

But as it looked like Rhett might lose that drop, dangling precariously off of the edge of his hand, Link reached out and swiped the sauce with one finger, then let his finger dart to his own mouth as he licked it off.

"Hey! I was gonna eat that!" Rhett knew there was no way he could have caught the drop, but he wanted to savor this, and besides, he'd been nice enough to bring Link half of his ribs to share for their lunch that day. He was being plenty generous.

"Sorry," Link said with a chuckle, not actually feeling sorry at all. As he picked up another rib and dug in, it wasn't long before sauce started to trickle down his own hand. Ribs definitely weren't the neatest food on the planet, but the mess was well worth it. As the sauce dripped down the back of Link's hand, Rhett leaned over the desk and licked it straight off of Link's hand.

"What the heck was that for?!" Link raised an eyebrow, looking at Rhett, then at his hand where Rhett had licked him, then back at Rhett.

"You were about to lose a drop. Payback is kind of a bitch, my friend."

"You didn't have to lick me!" Link's voice went up in pitch, getting shriller with the surprise that oh my gosh his best friend had just licked him what the heck?

"But it looked so good..." Rhett returned to his own rib, continued to eat. He finished, setting the bone down on his plate. Before he could pick up another, Link stood up and walked around the desk.

"Hey, Rhett, you have a little somethin'" Link started to gesture, then leaned down and licked the sauce off of the corner of Rhett's lips. "Nevermind. I got it." He grinned cockily as he returned to his side of the table and picked up his own rib.

Rhett was in stunned silence for awhile, just watching Link eat, Link acting as though he hadn’t just done what he just did. The sauce ran down Link's hand, then fell. Rhett's eyes followed the sauce until it disappeared under the desk. There was only one place that sauce could have landed, and if Link was going to push, to lick sauce off of his lips, he wasn't backing down without a fight.

Rhett stood, walking to Link's side of the desk, then put one hand on each arm of his friend's chair, turning Link to face him.

"Are you gonna eat that?" Rhett glanced down at the smear of dripped sauce on Link's fly.

This was it. He was giving Link an out, a chance to end all of this, an opportunity to clean up the sauce himself and forget any of this ever happened. But the sparkle in Link's eyes said he wasn't going down without a fight, and Rhett wasn't about to back down either.

"Nah, you can have it." Link gave that sly wink he'd done a million times into the camera, but this time there were no cameras around, no one watching. Rhett inhaled sharply.

"You mean, like..." Rhett glanced back down, then back up.

"I'm not going to eat it. I figured since you're so concerned about every last drop of that sauce, I'd offer it to you." Link wasn't backing down, shifting in his seat and letting his legs fall open. Rhett got down on his knees, leaned forward, and licked the sauce off of Link's tight jeans. Link's hardened state wasn't lost on Rhett, neither was the soft groan Link let out as his eyelashes fluttered.

Rhett, certain he hadn't gotten all of the sauce, gave Link's jeans another lick, pressing firmly with his tongue and looking up at Link, who was reaching, not for the rib, but for the bottle of sauce they'd been sharing. He dipped his finger in the open bottle, holding it out towards Rhett. Rhett wrapped his lips around Link's finger, his tongue lingering to gather every last drop.

"Mmm, that's good, that's real good, baby..." Link said softly, his other hand smoothing Rhett's hair. The implications hang heavily in the air between them, and Rhett reached up to the table, his eyes only leaving Link's for a second as he dipped his own finger into the jar. He lifted Link's shirt slightly, wiped the sauce from his finger onto Link's lower stomach.

"You going to eat that, or...?" Rhett was practically begging. All Link had to do was say he wanted the sauce and all of this would come screeching to a halt, but Rhett hoped Link would ask him to clean it off for him.

"You eat it," Link said. His eyes were dark, commanding. And Rhett wasn't saying no to that.

Rhett ran his tongue along Link’s lower stomach, varying the pressure of his tongue to make sure he got all of the sauce, but also to beg Link to let him take this further. Link’s eyes closed, his hand wrapping around the back of Rhett’s head. Rhett knew he had his answer, unbuttoning Link’s jeans, then unzipping them. Every second of silence, of Link holding Rhett’s head close, was a sign that this was exactly what Link wanted.

As Rhett tugged at Link’s jeans, Link lifted himself off of the chair, allowing Rhett the space he needed to slide them down, MeUndies and all, revealing every incredible inch of Link’s length. Neither of them were stopping this, they were heading straight towards a collision, and it was all because of that barbecue sauce.

But Rhett didn’t need the barbecue sauce to get up his nerve now. He wrapped his hand, which was still slightly sticky from the sauce, around Link’s cock, stroking it slowly as he looked up to Link for approval, making sure this was still okay, that they were still doing this, whatever this was that had gotten so wildly out of hand.

Link just tipped his head backward again, allowed a moan to escape his slightly parted lips, still reddened from the barbecue sauce.

Rhett wrapped his lips around the tip of Link’s cock, stroking, then taking it deeper. As he lifted his head, he kept his lips still wrapped around it, applying pressure with his tongue to really hit every nerve he possibly could. Just as he reached the tip, he dipped his head back down, trying to take as much of Link as he could. He hollowed his cheeks, and when he wasn’t sure he could take any more, he moved off, using his hand to do the work as he lapped at the tip. He pointed his tongue, running it firmly along Link’s length, not letting go of him. As Link’s breathing grew sharper, faster, his moans and whimpers became louder, Rhett picked up the pace, both with his lips and his hand.

“Oh, fuck… I… I’m…” Rhett stroked Link until he finished onto his own stomach. As Link reached for napkins, wiped at his stomach to clean it up, Rhett looked at him, grey eyes twinkling with mischief.

“How do you know I wasn’t gonna take care of that for you?” He asked.

“Gotta save room for the rest of the ribs, right, bo?” Link picked up another rib from the plate, offering it to Rhett. Link knew Rhett never turned down food, especially barbecue, and Rhett accepted it. “But hey, next time you’re bringing barbecue sauce? I have a few ribs I’d like to lick this sauce off of…” Link ran his clean hand up Rhett’s side.

“Next time, huh?” _So Link was suggesting there’d be a next time?_

“Yeah. What was it you said about payback?”


	2. Meat Lovers

Rhett hadn’t so much forgotten about the barbecue sauce so much as he’d just pushed it out of his mind so he could focus on work. For days, neither of them mentioned it, just trying to get through the busy season in their lives.

Link was thinking about it, though, non-stop. He’d made no effort to push it from his mind, to focus on work. All he’d wanted was to do it again as soon as possible, make good on his desire to pay Rhett back for the impulsive blowjob he’d gotten in the office that day. Once in awhile, Link would find himself standing at the fridge, dipping a finger into barbecue sauce, tasting it, and flashing back to that moment between them. The mere mention of barbecue was having some major effects on him.

But Rhett, Rhett was trying to hold strong, and he knew that barbecue would be too much for him to handle so he was avoiding it altogether. He took the bottle out of the work fridge, and hid his bottle at home. He could think about barbecue later, but for now, he had more important things to focus on… the Book of Mythicality, the tour, Buddy System, there wasn’t time for this now.

And he was doing okay, he was, keeping it out of his mind. Until Link showed up to work in that damn tee shirt.  _ Maybe he didn’t realize _ , Rhett first tried to convince himself. After all, Link loved to wear graphic tees, so it was probably just something he’d pulled out of his closet.

“More than a Good Butt,” the shirt said, small print below showing it as a shirt from a North Carolina barbecue joint Rhett hadn’t heard of. It was true, Link was more than just a good butt, and while he knew the shirt was referring to pork, well… the innuendo was still there. Surely, though, the tee shirt was an accident, Rhett convinced himself. Link wasn’t teasing him, couldn’t be.

Rhett tried to film normally, ignore the shirt, and after awhile, he just focused intently on every part of Link but his shirt, the words emblazoned on it.

Two days later, Rhett was convinced that it was no longer just an accident when Link showed up in a tee shirt that looked insanely good on those strong arms of his, with a picture of grill tongs on it. “I’m pretty confident about my meat,” the shirt read. It was now clear that Link was taunting him. Rhett wasn’t about to give in, though, not yet. He wanted to see how long Link was going to drag this out, and so he used every ounce of his willpower not to say something. When Link realized Rhett wasn’t taking the bait for the second time, though, he started to make it clear.

“Hey, they opened up a new barbecue place,” Link said. It was completely random, had nothing to do with whatever the hell they’d been talking about in Good Mythical More that day. They were halfway through filming it, and Link had just spurted the words out, interrupting Rhett and completely changing the subject. Rhett shot an intense glare his way-- less of an angry glare and more of a  _ what the fuck are you doing?  _ glare. Link backtracked, “Oh, sorry, man. I was just suddenly hungry. Didn’t you hear my stomach growl?”

Rhett laughed it off and said “Yeah, yeah, we’ll have to get some brunch or something after this,” and then returned to what he’d been saying before, brushing off Link’s suggestion completely.

Rhett  _ had  _ to know what he was suggesting, didn’t he? Surely he hadn’t missed both tee shirts and Link’s sudden cry for barbecue in the middle of the episode. But if Rhett noticed, he sure as hell wasn’t giving Link any indication. Link had to step it up a notch if he was going to get Rhett to cave, and he was willing to make that happen.

In their planning meeting that afternoon, Link had thrown out an idea for a barbecue sauce taste test, guessing the origin of barbecue by state in a blind test. Rhett remained silent, but a smirk curled up that gave him away.

“Wow, Link, you’re really craving barbecue lately,” Stevie responded, laughing at the fact that he’d been wearing barbecue-themed shirts and had blurted out his sudden lunch request during the More that day.

“You have no idea…” His eyes met Rhett’s, and locked. He wasn’t backing down, not until Rhett gave in or asked him to stop.

On Saturday, Link got to work early, an hour before Rhett. They didn’t usually film on Saturday, but they definitely had some extra work to get done, so he knew that he and Rhett would be all alone, chipping away at one of the projects on their slate. He’d come prepared, too, wearing a shirt that definitely wouldn’t have worked for GMM, but was perfect for driving his point home. “Once you put my meat in your mouth, you’re going to want to swallow,” it said, the words sandwiched between the base and lid of a grill. There was no way in hell that Rhett was going to miss those words.

Link settled into his flow of work, trying to get things done. After all, if Rhett was actually going to get the message today, he might need to be prepared for a pause in his to do list that afternoon. Then again, Link thought, maybe Rhett was the only truly important thing on that list. Link was fully engrossed in work when Rhett arrived, placing a cup of coffee on Link’s desk next to him.

“Oh, thanks, brother,” Link said, turning toward Rhett for the kind gesture. Rhett towered in front of him, and Link couldn’t help but let his jaw drop. Oh, Rhett had gotten the message all week long, he’d gotten it loud and clear. “Nice shirt.” Link acknowledged.

Rhett, who usually went for button-downs and plain tees, had upped his game to match Link’s level. The tee shirt, so far outside of what he’d usually wear, sent a clear message back to Link that he’d gotten every bit of the message Link tried to send. “Ain’t no sin to get my sauce on your chin.”  _ Well, then. _

Rhett fished in his bag, grabbing a bottle of barbecue sauce and setting it beside Link on the desk. “I thought maybe we could have some barbecue for lunch today,” Rhett drawled, his voice low.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of these shirts are real and actually do exist. If you'd like a link to hook you up with where to find it, let me know (but ao3 isn't keen on links to anything shoppable, so... just reach out to me, fam).


	3. Kissing the Cook

Link had knocked on the door to Rhett’s house, then tried pounding on the door and ringing the bell again and again after 10 minutes of no response. Had he misunderstood when Rhett had wanted him to come over? Rhett had promised barbecue in the text, and… Link wasn’t sure if Rhett meant barbecue or barbecue of the, uh, _southern United States variety_. He was game for either one, but now as he stood on the front porch, nothing but silence hit from the other side.

“Screw it,” Link mumbled under his breath, sliding the door open and walking into the house without invitation. “Rhett?” No response. Link headed toward the kitchen. Rhett kept his bachelor pad neat enough, but dishes filled the sink. The pile of clothes scattered on the floor made Link think maybe Rhett was overdue for some laundry, too. He chuckled. _Didn’t even clean up before inviting me over._

“Rhett?” Link hollered a little bit louder.

“I’m in the back yard.” a voice called. Link slid the screen door open and closed it behind him. He could see the wafts of smoke coming from the smoker in one corner of the yard, Rhett clearly positioned behind it as he checked the meat. _Oh. Actual barbecue._ Link felt a little bit disappointed.

But when Rhett stepped out from behind the smoker, Link couldn’t help but drag his eyes along every inch of skin. Rhett was standing there, in the middle of his backyard, in nothing but a Kiss The Cook apron. And _damn_ did he look good in it. Link thanked his lucky stars that Rhett had a privacy fence.

“How’s the meat doin’?” Link smirked, glancing Rhett up and down, tip to toe one more time.

“Good. Looks like maybe another couple of hours and it’ll be ready.” Rhett responded, but then noticed the look on Link’s face. “Oh! Oh… you meant… _that_ meat.” His cheeks peeked out over his beard, a slight blush across his face. Link giggled, then closed the distance between them with long strides across the backyard.

Link pulled at the fabric along Rhett’s collarbone, dragging his finger along the skin.

“This look suits you.” He winked, then tugged at it, one hand on each side, to pull Rhett down into a kiss. He didn’t even need barbecue sauce as an excuse this time, just wanted Rhett’s lips on his. His hands crept up to run through Rhett’s hair as he deepened the kiss, and loved how Rhett smelled vaguely of hickory smoke.

“Hey, don’t you want to wait for some barbecue?” Rhett pulled back, speaking against Link’s lips.

“Mmrm, just… want you.” Link’s hand dipped to the small of Rhett’s back and felt the bare skin where the apron didn’t reach. He bit at Rhett’s lower lip, tugging a little before letting go.

“But I had a taste test all planned!” Rhett whined, his arm gesturing toward a table Link wasn’t looking at.

“That’s nice, but I’m tasting what I want to taste right now.” He gave Rhett’s bare ass a little smack, smiling into another kiss. Rhett stepped sideways, backward toward the table anyway, Link following without breaking the kisses much at all. He’d come with one specific craving in mind, and, well, he intended to get it.

“Please?” Rhett batted his lashes as he leaned his bare cheeks against the edge of the table, evening his height a little with Link’s. Link pulled back, studying Rhett’s pleading face. It had started with barbecue, so… it made sense to continue with barbecue, he figured.

Link walked along the side of the table, trying to figure out where to start. Rhett had brought a lot of options to the table, and it looked like he’d put a lot of effort into the variety. North Carolina sauces were well-represented, but he had his fair share of unique sauces, too. He lifted one in particular that had coffee in it, smelling it, then set it back down.

“Where do you want me to start, bo?” Link smiled, wanting to know what Rhett had in mind.

“Try… this one.” Rhett reached out for a slightly spicy sauce, one with a tiny bit of a kick, nothing major.

“I meant on your body, baby.” Link chuckled, then picked up the basting brush. It was a soft silicone brush, and though Link contemplated using his fingers to smear the sauce, he thought Rhett might like this. He poured a few drops of the sauce onto Rhett’s collarbone, spreading it gently with the brush. Rhett squirmed at the sensation of the soft bristles on his skin, the cool sauce on the hot LA day.

Link ran his tongue along Rhett’s collarbone, dragging it slowly along the skin. He returned to certain places where the sauce had pooled, pointing his tongue to really focus, then nibbling and sucking the lingering sauce taste off of Rhett’s skin after the sauce was completely gone. He left behind marks, some pale pink and others much darker.

He opened another bottle of sauce, this time not bothering with the brush. He dipped his fingers into the bottle, then tugged the side of the apron to reveal one of Rhett’s nipples. He smothered it in sauce, then immediately pulled Rhett toward him with his free hand, sauce streaking across Rhett’s back. He planted his lips, his teeth, his tongue on Rhett’s skin, tugging, biting, as Rhett gasped and writhed. His hips ground against Link, and he had serious trouble not coming unglued right here.

Link pulled Rhett fully off of the table this time, then picked up one bottle of sauce in one hand, using the other arm to swipe the rest of the sauce off of the table completely, the bottles bouncing and scattering along the grass. One of them poured onto the ground. Link spun Rhett, revealing his exposed back as he bent him down onto the table. Streaks of sauce still coated his back from Link’s hands. Rhett’s thighs were pressed against the table, Link solid against him, and he turned back to see Link opening the other bottle of barbecue sauce with his teeth, sauce still dripping down his hands. Rhett licked his lips, imagining sucking the sauce off of each of Link’s fingers. He pressed backward, trying to create space between his legs and the table, his cock twitching with anticipation.

Link trailed kisses from Rhett’s freckled shoulder, down his back where the sauce had been smeared. He dribbled a line of sweet sauce down Rhett’s spine, then swiped at it with a fingertip, licking it off of his hand.

“I like this one,” he said, but then grabbed Rhett’s hips. Rhett rocked backward, aching for friction, for anything to get his skin against Link. “But I like what it’s on better.” He trailed kisses along Rhett’s spine, the sauce smearing and spreading everywhere. Link’s lips were coated, sauce splotched on his chin. His hands followed his kisses, getting them both sauce-covered as he traced back up with his tongue. Rhett’s back arched as Link began making little bites and leaving marks along Rhett’s skin as he sucked, licked, and bit the sauce off of him. Link’s sauce-covered hands pulled Rhett’s hips toward him, grinding the front of his jeans and the growing situation there against Rhett. Rhett’s ass, his thighs, they were smeared with sauce. Rhett was crumpling under the sensation, his cock lifting the apron slightly in front of him.

Link let out a groan, running his tongue over his saucy lips, looking at the long torso stretched across the table in front of him. He wanted to taste him so badly… that’s what he’d wanted from the beginning, not the sauce, but Rhett. It was why he’d come over, hoping that by barbecue, Rhett meant something like this. Of course, this defied his expectations-- he hadn’t considered the possibility of a mostly-naked Rhett in the backyard where anyone could hear them.

Link had reached the point of desperation. He couldn’t wait any longer, didn’t care about the barbecue sauce anymore. He was salivating, practically begging with every movement, drawing Rhett towards him.

 

“I gotta swish my mouth…” Link’s voice is thick with lust and sauce, and Rhett gestures aimlessly toward the ground. He can’t think straight with Link’s hip bone pressing into him, can’t really form words when he’s face down on the table just waiting for more. Link got the message, though, found a cooler under the table filled with beer and bottled water. He grabbed a water, opened it, and took a long swig. He tried to calm himself, slow himself down, take a deep breath. All he could smell was the smoke in the air, the sauce, and all he could think of was how much he wanted Rhett. He swished the water, then spat it on the ground. Link lowered himself to his knees behind Rhett.

He couldn’t wait to get his mouth on Rhett, barbecue sauce be damned. Link ran his fingertips lightly along the pale skin on Rhett’s ass cheeks, a stark contrast to the way he’d been biting before. He wanted to savor this moment, but Rhett was irresistible, so his grip on what little self-control he still had faded fast. He spread Rhett’s cheeks apart, still sauce-covered and sticky, then leaned in for a lick. He lingered, his tongue teasing.

He licked again, the sauce still present on his tongue. It only made Rhett sweeter, better. He alternated long, slow swipes, his tongue flat, with deeper, more intense presses. He ran his tongue along the skin below, wiping the remaining sauce from his hands on the grass and then on his jeans. Rhett bucked backward toward him, pushing himself into the sensation. He was practically humming with incoherent words and expletives, muttered into the table as he felt Link press against him gently with a thumb.

Link stood, and Rhett wiggled his hips, as though he was inviting Link back down.

“I need you. Now.” Link was firm, and Rhett heard his jeans unzip, then fall to the ground. Link looked around frantically for something, anything he could use. His eyes spotted a bottle in the grass that didn’t look quite like the others, it’s liquid clear. _You idiot, you knocked it on the ground!_ In his haste, he hadn’t realized Rhett’s taste test lineup included something that wasn’t for tasting. He snatched up the bottle of lube and slicked himself up with it. He pressed a wet finger to Rhett, sliding it in, then when Rhett was forcing himself backward begging for more, he slid in another.

“Dammit, Link, just fuck me!” He growled, clearly having prepared for this. Link didn’t have to be told twice. He pressed into Rhett, slowly at first, then faster. He reached under the apron, his hand coaxing whimpers and moans out of Rhett.

“Your neighbors are going to hear you,” Link cautioned, but he didn’t stop fucking Rhett.

“Don’t… fucking… care…” Rhett responded in a staccato rhythm, his words timed with Link’s thrusts. “Don’t… stop…”

“I wasn’t planning on it, baby.” Link was unrelenting, and Rhett was pushing himself backward onto Link, trying to drive him deeper, faster.

“Keep it up, and you’re going to get some of my, uh, special sauce…” Rhett whimpered.

“Oh my god, if you ever make a joke like that again…” Link groaned, smirking in spite of himself. “Fuck, shit you feel good…”

“Fuck… Link…” Rhett stilled, spilling come all over the inside of the apron, the rest dripping onto the ground with the remnants of barbecue sauce. It was enough to draw Link to finish, too, and he leaned forward, collapsing onto Rhett.

“I’m dead…” Link murmured, and Rhett stood slowly, an attempt to shake him off.

“You can’t steal my move, man.” Rhett chuckled as Link stood, lifting his body off of Rhett’s. “I’m going to go check on the meat.”

Link settled himself onto the ground and laid back onto the grass, wriggling his jeans back up over his hips and fastening them. He looked up at the clouds, listening to the sounds of the neighbors around them, a lawn mower in the distance. They all seemed unaware of what had just happened behind the fences of Rhett’s backyard. Link closed his eyes.

A few minutes later, Rhett approached, now in jeans, the apron discarded on the kitchen floor. He settled in beside Link on the grass.

“We’re doing this picnic style, huh?” He said. Link sat up, and Rhett balanced a plate of sliced brisket on Link’s knee. “I guess you already got all of the barbecue sauce down here for us. That helps.” Rhett laughed and leaned forward to reach for one of the bottles.

“I don’t think you need any,” Link said as he smiled, reaching out to wipe a smear of sauce off of Rhett’s arm. Rhett pulled Link’s hand towards his mouth, licking the sauce off of his fingertips.

“Hey!” Link crinkled his brow. “I was gonna eat that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many thanks to Mythicaliz who suggested I add a little rimming to my barbecue smut, to like-a-wild-potato who advised the Kiss the Cook apron and nothing else, and to themouthking, who always knows what I want to say when I can't seem to say it.


	4. Cravings (Epilogue)

Barbecue no longer meant  _ barbecue. _ Really, it hadn’t since that very first day, when things had gotten so out of hand so quickly. Every time they used barbecue to insinuate anything other than meat, prepared in a very special way, well… it started to lose it’s meaning even further.

“What do you want for lunch today, bo?” Link fiddled with his shirt buttons after filming wrapped on the Good Mythical More episode, leaning back in his chair.

“How about barbecue?” Rhett raised an eyebrow in that suggestive way that made it clear by barbecue he meant… well…  _ barbecue _ .

“Okay, guys, what’s with the sudden interest in barbecue?” Stevie rolled her eyes. “This is literally the third time this week you’ve decided on barbecue for lunch. Is this barbecue just extra good or something?”

“You can’t call it a sudden interest, Stevie, we’ve always loved barbecue. We wrote an entire song review of it, remember?” Link snapped a little bit, then dialed back his tone as much as he could.

“Yeah, I know that, but I can’t remember a time when you guys have decided to eat it three times in a week. Either this is a really good restaurant or you guys have some sort of weird obsession going on.”

“You know what, Stevie? Yeah, I’m pretty obsessed with barbecue right now. I’ve been reading a book about the best way to really  _ do  _ barbecue.” Rhett was making it clear this was his new layer, apparently. “You know, get it just right. It needs a good sauce but, you know, the technique is what really matters there. I guess I’ve just had barbecue on my mind a lot lately.”

Link’s mouth opened slightly.  _ Studying technique? Was he serious?  _

“Oh,” Stevie nodded, then added “So when are you bringing barbecue for the rest of us?”

Rhett choked on his water, then set his mug down carefully, trying to compose himself.

“I can… um… I can probably recommend a good book or something but I’m not really sure that I’m ready to commit to, uh, barbecue for everyone.”


End file.
